What you get out of the military is directly proportional to what you put into it.
Ummm... spoken like an Air Force Officer and Pilot. Sir.
The view for the enlisted folks was a mite different.
Course, I can only safely comment on the view from my hole.. the vantage point of others could produce a remarkably different view of the same terrain.
I had a CWO in charge of my section that had 17 years in.. he was no 'lifer'. I also had a butterbar to contend with that had 2 years in who was most assuredly a 'lifer'.
The numbers of the second type were significantly larger than the first. It was my humble opinion that the army needed more #1, a whole lot less #2.